Oh yeah. Hadn’t even clicked in my head! 
Proves I wasn’t in ‘race’ mode. Sat on my arse casually putting my shoes on 
My neck is really hurting still. I’m starting to wonder if maybe it was somersault related and not just stiffness? Who knows.
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Well done @gingerbongo and @buzz - enjoyed reading both of those!
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So I did my first triathlon yesterday in 3 years (can’t count midnight man as I only swam and biked it) down at Eton Dorney. I did the standard / Olympic and Jan the sprint. We have Erkner 70.3 in two weeks time and really needed to get some more racing in; or more to the point more practise at those pesky transitions.
As we booked this late we were in the late start which for me was 12:30 and Jan 11:30. This became quite significant as it was boiling down there yesterday afternoon.
So I waved Jan off and then sorted myself out. As someone else said on here you forget just how much stuff there is with triathlons so lots and lots of faffing before it was time to get in the water.
The water at Eton is really good by which I mean clear. You can actually swim by looking at the bed and following the line of the cables that keep the row buoys in place. I think that there were just under 400 swimmers so there was some biff but nothing too bad. I was always around people but could never manage the art of getting on someone’s feet; always seems easier in the pool. Anyway I get out of the water and was surprised to see 25:10. It turned out that for me it was closer to 1400m rather than 1500m so add two mins to my time.
Transition was not too bad but I really need to learn how to get my wet suit off more quickly!! (Tips anyone??) Then off on the bike. Its 8 laps which does not bother me and the distance is 38K rather than 40K. First job was to get my heart rate down and get into a rhythm. The bike course is on the other side of the lake which you follow out, you do sharp left and return down another road. However on the first lap I got to the bottom of the lake at this point the run and the bike almost converge. By shear chance I see Jan running and then start shouting out and waving. She sees me and waves back. However when my eyes returned to the course I am approaching the corner with way too much speed. Cue lots of brakes and a bit of a slide but nothing too serious apart from an elevated HR. The rest of the ride was done watching the road and I finished around 1:07 with an average of 33.5kph.
T2 was uneventful and off into the run. I was wearing my carbon plates for the first time in a while and forgot just how good they are so set off a little too quick. I mentioned before the weather, which really was not an issue for either the swim or the bike. It was about 2pm at this point and the temp was 29C but there was not a breath of air. I really started to notice this very quickly and after the first mile really had rain the pace back. So lots of drinking and keeping a close eye on that HR.
Rolling on to the last quarter of the run and I am now turning for home. I notice a guy in a white tri suit up ahead and as I am running back towards the boat house (which seems to take for ever on that course) I am very slowly catching him up. As I got close he could hear the rustling of my race number so would then go a little quicker, I would then go a little quicker, he would hear me and then he would a little more quickly. Anyway I drew along side him and said something like ‘Common lets go’ which he was more than up for and was ran side by side. The last 400m I guess was more of a sprint finish, so a proper race, which I absolutely loved.
Anyway crossed the line in 2:25:10 which I was very happy with. It got me 1st place in M60 which I was even more happy with. I think that if the swim and bike had been accurate then this would probably be bang on 2:30. Overall 60/380, again pleased with that. Jan also did well and was 2nd lady in the run split for W60 so she was chuffed too.
As I said above two weeks till a 70.3 which I think will very different, will need to be much more conservative on the bike and stick strictly to HR so as to have a good run.
The thing I like about Eton Dorney is it is such a great place for a first timer. As well as our two races there were super sprints and lots of waves specific to gender and ability. Of course the whole route is closed to traffic.
Sorry, bit of a long report; two pics to finish. Jan and I and secondly myself plus my new sprint buddy.
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Brill.
Baby oil on your arms & legs just before getting in the suit does the trick 
.
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Enjoyed reading those @gingerbongo, @buzz and @Sparky, well done 
Getting some proper FOMO reading all these race reports from the last few weeks.
GB - I would have driven out and found my spares, maybe I have been living in Yorkshire too long? Tight AF 
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Also calf guards worn under the wettie can help to get it off the lower legs quickly. And cut the leg openings wider.
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Nice one mate 
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Great stuff Sparky. Sounds like a brill day out. Good luck for the 70.3 - will look forward to a report on that one! Must admit had to look that one up, as I’ve not heard of Erkner before.
Cutting the lower legs a tad higher helps, if you’re able to. My new wetsuit (compared to my old huub) has much less leg, and as a result is much easier to get both on and off!
@pacha I did think about it. But I was just ready to go home and be back with the family! Mrs GB would’ve 100% agreed with you though! There’s no way she’d have left them there!!!
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Great reports & races, enjoyed reading them today.
This was definitely me yesterday, lack of brick runs and hill running really!
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Great report and well done @Sparky
For my wetsuit I use lots of vaseline/baby gel on top half of my feet, lower legs, knees, wrists, forearms, elbows (song in there somewhere) and it really worked well during ROC Wales. I’ve had my trisuit now for about 15 years, so doesn’t seem like the petrolium is doing it short-term damage 
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Have decided to take my own bike to Greece and added it to the flight this morning so hopefully no issues at Manchester airport which does scare me! The main reason being the change of venue will make it a right pain to take the hire bike back into Athens on a Sunday evening as I need to be at the airport on the Monday around 5:30am!
Plan is to take the old TT bike if I get it tested before then and feel comfortable on it. Hopefully get me a faster time than a hire bike.
If my leg continues to hold up I might have an outside chance of sub 5 if the course is as flat and fast as they say!
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ROC England DNF alert
A beautiful day in the Lakes.
Did the swim (“there is no way that those swimming breast stroke are going to beat me, with their silly wide kicks, their choice of knee-fucking stroke, and their choice of using 3/4 of their swim energy from their legs pre bike and run hmmmmm!”). My time was ok I think, water fairly warm and calm, and I chose to pull my finger out and breathe every 2 instead of every 3/4.
T1 went fine although the usual faff.
Bike: got out of T1 and spotted my gears were on biggest possible, and couldn’t change down, neither shifter. Got off, this was only about 50m from T1, and had about 7 people looking at my cables, all to no avail. Now as I am deffo not man enough to do 2 Lake District bikes in big gear with a Scafell Pike run in between I decided to sulk and DNF. FIrst since Wasdale X in 20?? when I decided to try all 7 pints at the Strands Brewery pub where I was staying pre race hence cramped to f* 50m into the mountain run d’oh!
Anyway, I digress. So imagine how gutted I was, angry that I had forgotten to check my bike the night before and morning, and just generally being a sulky 2 year old when talking to the British Tri official. 10 mins into the conversation and I had a chat with myself to grow up and hence volunteered to help.
So after chilling out for ages as it was quite a time for them to return from the distant t2, I was on the post race fuelling stand, water, bananas, energy drink and bars. What fun I had talking to the lovely competitors, and telling them my martyr victim story poooooooor me boo hoo.
Decided to return home Sat eve to enable me Sun to try and recreate some of the ROC Scotland (Oct) by hopefully MTB run MTB run, we shall see.
The winner, Ian Veitch came in quite a time ahead of everyone else, and what a fabulous chap, have to say. His first thought after grabbing water and chatting to me, was to grab a couple of cups of water and walk back to the finish for the competitors who came second and third. Chapeau Sir.
So instead of being the miserable grumpy old git that I am, and bemoaning that I may have won the V60 prize, I decided to be pragmatic about the whole thing, to see a race from the other end, to see it from the oragnisers’ point of view, and to see all of the awesome athletes, well, it was nice.
Well done all, fabulous achievement.
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That’s rough mate but you turned lemons into lemonade, well done for volunteering. 
Not really clear on what happened with your gears though, are you running DI2?
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Thanks. Good question, yes I think so.
It was as if both cables had snapped internally, very odd, although I did stuff it down the front of the passenger seat, having said that, done that before Might look at it today, but most probably might just take into a local bike shop.
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Powerman Zofingen 24
Doubles as World Duathlon Long Distance Champs. I’d been here in 2022, finished 7th and wanted to know if I could advance on that.Last time 8hrs 8 mins, sub 8 next target.
Ferry from Hull to Rotterdam - WTF £650 for bunk beds - I can ‘member paying for a week in Gran Canaria for that !!! Stayed in same hotels for stopover and at the event as last time - so yes, top floor of the tits and teeth medical centre 
Pre race - some good uninterrupted training , big rides and runs done and taper respected.
Courses have been changed last year and I like the improvements. The ladder to heaven has been removed and replaced with the stairway to the stars , but I reckon that’s still easier.
The event (and it’s gonna be honest as always ) :
1st run:
Only 17 in my AG, thought top 10 would be a two foot tap in. 1st run actually OK, longer than before at a smidge more than 10k - I got 6.29 miles. Mile pacing better than ‘22, but likely an easier run. In to T1 in 12th now onto the bike where I’m gonna move through the field.
Bike
Sorry, what, pardon - move through the field ? 3 laps of largely the same bike course maybe a mile or so longer. 90.1 miles I’ve got and I think it was 88 summat in 22. Anyway, three laps of up and down, and this year I stopped using the TT bike in club TTs to switch a compact on (this likely led to the better 2nd run, as I remember gurning like a good one in the previous outing. Ist lap done - Andy’s a good boy, respected the course and didn’t go mad, managing effort and watts with a plan to go with 3 similar lap times. Then on lap 2 I just felt sick, gut issues, and the watts were falling and I was on my own. Lap 3 billy no mates, now I’m so alone I think they’ll want me to collect the signs as I go. Switched to course nutrition and third lap a whole 15 minutes slower than the 1st. Thought about quitting loads. Picked up towards the end, maybe the nutrition switch helped ?
Off the bike in 11th, so someone had a worse day than me.
2nd run
A miracle happened, the heavens opened, biblical rain fell down, and the gods of brick running told me it was my day.
Not to reel in 10 other runners, but somehow , I was able to put in a really competent second run which felt great. Sure, it was wetter than an otters pocket but that was fine with me, it cooled me down all lovely like, and I ran from 11th to finish 11th. Likely closer to 10th than I was when I exited transition though.
In all, 8hrs 20 and ONE second !!! That’s the worst part 
12 mins slower than ‘22 and if I net off the 22 mins I was slower on the bike, then a technical man maths sub 8 could have been on the cards.
Greatest Duathlon course ever.
As I write this, I missed the awards dinner as vommed both after the event and as late as 8pm this evening. I have just managed to keep down some ph and a flapjack. I’ve managed to write this so the shakes have now gone 
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Haha. I love thinking like this.
Kudos for sticking at it, or you’d never have the opportunity to man maths it.
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Great report - hope you manage to get some proper rest tonight
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Enjoyed that. Congratulations on toughing it out.
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Jeez!!!
Ferries are dear!!!
Nice report, hope the sickness is better for the trip back 
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